---
name: "xcam"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "sane"
version: "1.0.14-17"
release: "Debian 12 (Bookworm)"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/xcam"
---

# xcam(1)

a graphical camera frontend for SANE

## NAME

xcam - a graphical camera frontend for SANE

## SYNOPSIS

**xcam** \[**--buffer**\|**-B**\] \[**--version**\|**-V**\] \[**--help**\|**-h**\]

## DESCRIPTION

**xcam** provides a graphical user-interface to control an image acquisition device such as a flatbed scanner or a camera.  It allows scanning individual images and can be invoked directly from the command-line.

**xcam** acts as a stand-alone program that saves acquired images in a suitable PNM format (PBM for black-and-white images, PGM for grayscale images, and PPM for color images).

**xcam** accesses image acquisition devices through the SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy) interface.  The list of available devices depends on installed hardware and configuration.

**xcam** presents a menu listing of all known and available devices.

## OPTIONS

If the **--Buffer (-B)** option is given, **xcam** will use a 1024 kByte input buffer instead of the default 32 kByte.

If the **--version (-V)** option is given,  **xcam** will output its version number.

The **--help (-h)** flag prints a short summary of options.

- **SANE\_DEBUG\_XCAM**

  This environment variable controls the debug level of xcam.  Higher debug levels increase the verbosity of the output.

                Value  Descsription\
                 0      print fatal errors\
                 1      print errors\
                 2      print warnings\
                 3      print information messages\
                 4      print everything

                Example:\
                 SANE\_DEBUG\_XCAM=3

## FILES

- *$HOME/.sane/xcam/devicename.rc*

  For each device, there is one rc-file that holds the saved settings for that particular device.  Normally, this file should not be manipulated directly.  Instead, the user should use the **xcam** interface to select appropriate values and then save the device settings using the "Preferences-\>Save as default settings" menubar entry.

## SEE ALSO

[sane(7)](/sane/7.md), [xscanimage(1)](/xscanimage/1.md), [scanimage(1)](/scanimage/1.md), [sane-dll(5)](/sane-dll/5.md) and the backend manpages

## AUTHOR

David Mosberger-Tang

Gerard Klaver (2005 update)